Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Studios had a lot riding on Ring of Power, the plodding Lord of the Rings prequel reported to have cost one billion dollars in production and licencing rights.
But according to Amazon Studios head Vernon Sanders, it has paid off.
“It is, by far, our most-watched show, first-season scripted series, by far. It's our most acquisitive show. We still have millions of people coming to this show within the last month, millions and millions of people coming to the show for the first time, even in the last month," Sanders told Collider on Tuesday.
Sanders called RoP a “powerhouse for us” and a “tremendous success”, but despite supposedly being such a mass hit, Amazon has been suspiciously quiet on viewership numbers.
According to the company, 25 million viewers tuned in for the premiere, while Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke is on record stating that “we're cresting toward 100 million customers having watched it”.
That’s where the data from the horse’s mouth ends.
But going by Nielson data – which in fairness does not tell the whole picture, since it only counts viewers connected to televisions, not laptops or smartphones – viewership numbers actually decreased week on week during the running of the season.
HBO’s competing fantasy, the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, meanwhile, steadily gained viewers and ended up overtaking RoP as the season progressed.
Nielsen data, though incomplete, shows a concerning trend for Amazon – Source: Nielson
Even Variety, which ran numerous puff pieces on the show, noticed Amazon’s deafening silence, raising questions over the direction that season two might take.
Rings of Power splits opinions
If viewership numbers remain a mystery, the divisive nature of the show is loud and clear.
Critics seem to love it, with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes showing an average rating of 89%.
The story is much different when it comes Rotten Tomatoes’ audience score- a paltry 39%.
Criticisms of the show have primarily focused on the liberties it took with Lord of the Rings creator J. R. R. Tolkien’s original vision, with fans taking umbrage at the show’s depictions of Galadriel and Sauron in particular.
‘Review bombing’ controversies also arose when Amazon deleted what it considered fake reviews amid an “anti-woke” backlash against RoP’s diverse casting.
However, there was little to no insight into how Amazon demarcated fake reviews from genuine reviews that spoke out against the show’s subjectively atrocious dialogue, plot, character development, direction, acting and general tedium.
It is also unclear whether Amazon intends to address any genuine concerns over the quality of the show going into season two.
As showrunner J.D. Payne said to Variety in another puff piece: "The cake was kind of baked before the audience response came in."
Amazon reaches antitrust deal with European Union
Amazon has finally closed a deal with EU antitrust regulators who were probing the US tech giant for using non-public data to undercut its rivals.
Under the agreement, the multinational avoids having to pay a potential fine of 10% of global revenues.
Amazon announced new measures to make its marketplace fairer among sellers and make rival products more visible on the marketplace’s buy box.
Closure of the probe follows the signing of the Digital Markets Act in November, which aims to place checks on the power of big-tech companies.
“Amazon can no longer abuse its dual role and will have to change several business practices,” said Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition chief. “Competing independent retailers and carriers as well as consumers will benefit from these changes opening up new opportunities and choice.”
“We are pleased that we have addressed the European Commission’s concerns and resolved these matters,” Amazon said in response to the outcome.
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